Cupertino officials are pulling the plug on studying how to improve safety on one of the West Valley’s busiest roads. The Cupertino City Council voted 3-1 to defund the Bollinger Road corridor study last week, which would have gathered data to assess potential safety improvements. Councilmember Sheila Mohan voted no and Councilmember J.R. Fruen recused...
Cupertino slow to build housing residents can afford
Cupertino is known for its wealthy tech world. But one in four households struggles with the cost of living in a city slow to build affordable housing. The city’s proposed housing plan for the next five years, which it submits to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for grant funding, reveals 26%...
Cupertino Whole Foods closure opens door for nearby businesses
Rats shutting down a grocery store are never a good thing — unless regulars from that market end up boosting businesses in the surrounding area. The Santa Clara County Department of Environmental Health shut down the Cupertino Whole Foods at the end of April after finding rodent droppings in the receiving bay, deli, juice bar...
Los Gatos considers cuts, hiring freezes to tackle budget shortfall
Some of Los Gatos’ key services could be cut as the town contends with looming multimillion-dollar shortfalls. The Los Gatos Finance Commission unanimously recommended the Town Council cut expenses and increase revenues, rather than pulling from its reserves, to address its $2 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2025-26. The commission also recommended a temporary hiring...
Campbell dry cleaner offers free services to the unemployed
When Ali Shirkhodaei immigrated to the United States from Iran at 28 in 2006, he didn’t know how difficult it’d be to get a job, even with his molecular biology degree. He job hunted for a year, with no idea he’d eventually run a successful dry-cleaning business in Campbell. Shirkhodaei did know he wanted to infuse...
Why Cupertino renters might lose their homes to student housing
Rosemary Biswas has lived with her two children at McClellan Terrace Apartments in Cupertino since 2023. The aging building comes with lower rent, a godsend in a region considered one of the most expensive in the nation. The single mom and 93 other families will likely be forced to move by June 2026, so Foothill-De...
More housing planned for Los Gatos Boulevard
Another housing project along Los Gatos Boulevard is one step closer to fruition, with developers continuing to propose homes on the main thoroughfare. The Los Gatos Planning Commission is recommending a 55-townhome development located on 1.56 acres at 15349-15367 Los Gatos Blvd. Vice Chair Kendra Burch recused herself because she lives close to the project....
Cupertino council places city manager on leave
Cupertino has had six city managers in less than a decade, and officials just placed its top executive on leave. The Cupertino City Council voted 3-2 in closed session to put City Manager Pamela Wu on paid leave Friday so it can conduct a “fair internal review process to move forward in a constructive and...
Los Gatos prepares for second phase of North 40
The second phase of one of Los Gatos’ largest and most controversial development projects is one step closer to a vote after years of delays and revisions. The Los Gatos Planning Commission began discussing phase two of the North 40 project Wednesday, which includes 450 homes and more than 15,000 square feet of retail space...
The Biz Beat: The Happy Hound — a Los Gatos good eats landmark
For the last 54 years, The Happy Hound in Los Gatos has served a menu of classic American diner fare: assorted hamburgers, hot dogs and milkshakes, with fries and onion rings as sides. It’s a formula that works, as attested by the loyalty of longtime customers such as Gary Snyder, who said he only needs...